Chapter 1 || THE AWAKENING || --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was just like any other night in Gardenview; empty, desolate, forsaken, cold, and still trying to hold on to its colorful pigments and joyful impression even though it has already been gone for a long time. The air reeks of lost potential and misery, yet the toons are still grasping onto life. While the other toons are talking or doing work, Boxten and Poppy sit and talk on the bench next to a once-thriving tree. "So Boxten you've been looking a bit flustered around Glisten, is there something I don't know about?" "What no! It's just that Astro has been giving me a bunch of strange dreams and for some reason he always makes me dream about Glisten! Like, Glisten is pretty awesome and all but he doesn't have to make ALL of my dreams about him!" "Ha! That's hilarious Boxten! You might have to talk to Astro about that." "I know, I'll ask him later, but for now I kinda think it's nice." "Yeah alright then. I gotta go, see you later!" Poppy walked away before he could even say anything else, he just watched her leave as he waved his hand goodbye. With Poppy already occupied with something now, Boxten had nothing else to do with his time. He stared for a while before deciding to lay on the cold, stiff bench, looking at the stained, dusty glass roof. The twinkling stars stretched across the azure night sky. It was just him and his thoughts now, just roaming free in his mind. Not a single thought about anybody else but himself. Boxten just watched as the comets soared through the airspace as the asteroids floated through space. He wishes he could be free from this miserable prison and feel the warmth of the stars and witness the planets orbit around the world just like how Delilah told him before she left them all. After a while of staring into space, he felt somewhat at peace. Finally—he hasn't felt that feeling in ages of being trapped here. Suddenly, Boxten felt light, gentle tap on his shoulder. Boxten wakes up from daydreaming and swiftly jumps up out of surprise, his eyes wide open and his body now sitting up. He glared at the toon who disturbed his peace and noticed that it was just Glisten. He stared at him for a second and let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, it's just you Glisten. You scared me!" "My bad Boxten, but you should really pay attention to the people around you. You never know when they might come up to you and scare the heck out of you!", Glisten chuckled a bit. "True but still don't scare me like that!", Boxten chuckled back with a slight smile. "Um. Anyways, why are you just sitting here?" "I don't know. I was just bored I guess.." "Alright then. Well it's getting pretty late now so i'm gonna go get some beauty sleep." "Oh okay. See you tomorrow then!", Boxten smiled. "See you later boxy boy!" Glisten strutted to the toon rooms while Boxten stayed behind. Boxten couldn't help but giggle a bit as he watched him flee. He used to be embarrassed when he called him that but now it has sort of grown on him. As he let out a contented sigh, Boxten slowly reclined back on to the bench. After that, his eyes became weary and began to leave his eyes half open and relax for a bit. As time flew by, soon enough it was already midnight and he had stayed up til dark. Boxten sluggishly glanced at the time and as soon as he realized that it was already 3:00, he sprung up in shock and quickly got up from the now warm bench from him laying on it for so long. The tired music box ran to the toon rooms as he yelped. "Oh man I stayed up so dang late!! Now i'm gonna be so tired tomorrow!!" Boxten kept running until he finally arrived at the toon rooms. He browsed around to find his designated room. He soon found his room covered in crumpled up love letters that were too cheesy to give to anybody, music sheets that hasn't been perfected but still trying to be, and a raggedy blanket that still feels soft to the touch. After looking at his messy room he spotted his bed, still looking the same since morning. He tiredly flopped onto his bed face-first and groaned as he turned on his back. Boxten sleepily raised the covers over his body and began to close his eyes. When he began to dream it wasn't the same usual dreams he always got, instead he stood in the halls of Gardenview but something didn't look right. Everything was dark and had an unsettling, eerie feeling. Usually Glisten is standing at the front of the shops, waiting for Boxten to come up and greet him but this time he's not here–actually it looks like nobody is even here. Boxten inspects the area with confusion in his mind. While he looks around for any sight of a toon he notices a note on the decaying tree. He grabs it and begins to examine it. (CONTINUED BELOW)
(CONTINUED) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It reads "Whoever is reading this, i'm assuming that you're probably at least somewhat alive but I doubt it. Listen, you need to GET OUT of here. This place is highly dangerous for anybody to be in. I'm not sure what exactly happened but all I know is that Astro caught the Ichor Star.. He wields the ultimate power that cannot truly be deprived from. He cursed EVERYONE. We had to abandon this place, it's too risky to stay. Astro wasn't like this before—he never was..." At the bottom of the note, it's all scribbled out and says "STOP IT" in red and the words "WHAT HAPPENED" repeat six total times in red too. Boxten looks away, shook but not entirely terrified. He gazes around again to make sure that he's alone. The music box walked through the dusty and ichor-stained hallways. Nobody was left, even Dyle and Dandy fled—Astro must've been extremely powerful that even Dandy left. He kept roaming and walking around until he stood in the toon rooms. Boxten walked through and cautiously gazed from room to room until he saw something at the end of the rooms. It looked like Glisten but it wasn't him–not at all. He stares at Glisten nervously as he slowly moves closer. "Are you okay? What happened?" When Boxten gets close enough to Glisten he puts his hand on his shoulder gently and frightfully speaks out his name. "Glisten..?" Glisten heard his name, he heard it loud and clear. Glisten slowly turns to look at him. When Glisten faces Boxten fully, Boxten's expression changes from concerned to horrified. Glisten's glass is shattered and a pitch black void fills the area, the only thing you can see in that void are pairs of red unsettling eyes staring back. His bow is torn apart and stained with Ichor along with his hands and legs. Boxten quickly steps back as he starts to breathe more heavily in fear. "GLISTEN?! OH GOD, WHAT DID ASTRO DO TO YOU?!" Suddenly, Glisten starts screeching deafeningly and darts towards him extremely quickly. Boxten tries to run away but he can't seem to move at all. As Glisten gets closer by the second, Boxten starts struggling a lot just to move. Suddenly, Glisten is already in front of Boxten as he still desperately tries to move away from him. Glisten swiftly grabs Boxten by the shoulders with his hands shaking intensely. Boxten immediately freezes and slowly faces Glisten terrifiedly with his whole body shaking. Once Boxten is fully staring at him, Glisten shrieks at him and instantly Boxten wakes up. His bed is soaked in sweat and his heart is pounding. His eyes start to dart around the room, looking for anybody in there with him. He looks at the door, it's still closed like before. Boxten looks back at his bed and sighs nervously. "Holy moly.. That was TERRIFYING.. Why was I dreaming about that?!" He pauses and looks at the floor. "I..I don't think that was normal at all.. Why would Astro give me a dream like that..? ... Tomorrow I'll go ask Poppy and Glisten for help... Maybe i'll forget all about it and be normal the next day.." He crawls back under his blanket and lays down just to stare at the ceiling. "But to be completely honest...I don't think i'll be able to forget that dream now..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF CHAPTER 1
